The Buried Talent
Sometimes I get the feeling that contemporary Christianity has completely missed the point.
Here’s what I mean; on a practical, philosophical or political level, what would any of us define as holiness truly...
A Little Bird Told Me
A little bird told me. You've probably heard this familiar saying. It comes from the Bible, Ecclesiastes 10:20 to be exact.
The full version is: "Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the ri...
Who is my Neighbor?
When Jesus was asked “Who is my neighbor?” what was the man really asking?
Certainly he was expecting a simple, direct answer – one that he could take home and live with. He was surely expecting a response th...
This Train: Songs of the Civil Rights Movement
“I’m not black,
but there’s a whole lot of times
I wish I could say I’m not white.”
-Frank Zappa
The history and progress of civil rights in America has never been easy, and many times it has been downright ...
The Kingdom Belongs to Such as These? (Luke 18:15-17)
I am less concerned about whether there is a Hell or not, than I am about the supposedly agreed upon criteria for going – or not going – there.
Most people that I know with – or without – faith presume that t...
The Healing Scent of Holiness
In my city, any many others, there are occasional small clusters of earnest people outside Planned Parenthood offices. They hold garish signs of bloody fetuses and they sometimes chant or sing. Sometimes th...
Chinese Christmas: Always Winter and Never Christmas
In mainland China, at least in 1999, they didn’t celebrate – or even acknowledge – Christmas. The lingering brutal winters fit that line from “The lion, the witch and the wardrobe” where Narnia is describe...
War on Christmas
And then there are those who rouse our passions about a “War on Christmas”.
I found this tedious last year, and the year before, and the year before…
But this compromise is as old as the Christmas story its...
All I want for Christmas is the Real Christmas story
It doesn’t seem that much to ask. With all the passion, energy and hype around Christmas, you’d think there would be some interest in refining our focus on what we were really celebrating.
Frenzied shopping,...
The Walker: An Anonymous Blur on the Horizon
Even though virtually all of us have seen him as he wanders relentlessly, day and night, across and beyond his home town, few know his name.
Those of us who know him call him the Walker. That's what he d...